1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates communication networks and, more particularly to a method for creating a communication network from devices of an automation system and to a corresponding communication network and a corresponding automation system.
2. Description of the Related Art
The configuration or reconfiguration of automation systems in production or process automation is complex, time-consuming and associated with high cost. Within the framework of engineering, the automation system is usually planned first and then its automation is designed. In such cases, the communication infrastructure between the individual devices of the automation system must also be planned. A device of an automation system is to be understood here and below as any given units which are involved as part of the automation system in automating the system or in the associated communication. Preferably, the devices comprise sensors and actuators in the field and also controllers which, based on data from sensors, control corresponding actuators in a suitable manner.
It is known to use various protocols for communication between the individual devices of the automation system. To guarantee real time exchange of data between the devices, a communication network is established in particular which is based on Industrial Ethernet. In such cases, there are a plurality of known communication protocols that are based on the use of Industrial Ethernet, such as the Profinet protocol. Within the framework of communication during operation of the automation system, corresponding physical addresses, such as IP addresses and Media Access Control (MAC) addresses, for example, are used in which the individual devices are addressed directly. Within the framework of the engineering of automation systems, it is further known that for the generic description of automation functions, instead of physical addresses, corresponding logical addresses of the individual devices are used. The problem arises, at run time or when the automation systems is started up, of the logical addresses having to be converted in a suitable manner into physical addresses of the devices, in order in this way to guarantee the real time capabilities of system operation. At present, there are no known methods that guarantee in a simple manner, with the least possibly manual effort, an assignment of the logical addresses to the physical addresses of the devices.